hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

Terraplane The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane. They were ...

Danny Bowes Daniel John ‘Danny’ Bowes (born 14 April 1960, West Ham, Essex, England) is a British hard rock singer. Education Bowes was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College. Life and career Bowes is the lead singer with the rock act, Thun ...

Luke Morley Luke Morley (born 19 June 1960 in Camberwell, London, England) is the guitarist, chief songwriter and producer for the hard rock band Thunder from 1989 to present (with a break from 1999–2002, and 2009–2011). Previous to that he wa ...

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

Backstreet Symphony ''Backstreet Symphony'' is the debut studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded in 1989 at Great Linford Manor Studios in Milton Keynes, it was produced by former Duran Duran and The Power Station guitarist Andy Taylor, then m ...

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

Laughing on Judgement Day ''Laughing on Judgement Day'' is the second studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded between February and June 1992 at Outside Studios in Checkendon, it was produced the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and Andy Taylor (who ha ...

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Mikael Höglund Mikael Höglund (born 15 May 1962) is a Swedish bass player, previously of the bandTryckvågGreat King Rat
and

. The new lineup recorded only one studio album, '' Behind Closed Doors'', which peaked at number 5 in the UK and spawned three UK top 40 singles. The 1995 compilation ''Their Finest Hour (And a Bit)'' reached number 22 in the UK and was certified silver by the BPI. Höglund left in 1996 and was replaced by Chris Childs, after Morley performed bass on fourth album '' The Thrill of It All'', which reached the UK top 20. Thunder's 1998 live album ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'' reached number 35 on the UK Albums Chart, while the following year's fifth studio album '' Giving the Game Away'' reached number 49. The band broke up in early 2000 due to "outside business forces". After a brief hiatus, Thunder returned in 2002 and formed their own record label, STC Recordings. The band's sixth studio album '' Shooting at the Sun'' was released the following year, supported by the UK top 50 single "Loser". After three more new studio albums – 2005's '' The Magnificent Seventh'', 2006's ''

Robert Johnson's Tombstone ''Robert Johnson's Tombstone'' is the eighth studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded at Chapel Studios in South Thoresby, Chez Bez and Tackle Out Studios in London, and the El Relaxo villa in Mijas, Spain, it was produced by th ...

'' and 2008's '' Bang!'' – Thunder decided to break up in 2009. Two years later, however, the group returned for a third active spell, scheduling a number of sporadic live shows over the following years. A tenth studio album, ''

Wonder Days ''Wonder Days'' is the tenth Album, studio album by English hard rock band Thunder (band), Thunder. Recorded in late 2014 at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, it was produced by the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and released internationall ...

'', was released on the

earMusic Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...

label in 2015, giving the band their first UK top ten since 1995 when it peaked at number 9. '' Rip It Up'' followed in 2017, reaching a peak UK Albums Chart position of number 3.

History

1989–1991: Early years and debut studio album

On 1 January 1989, at the group's annual New Year's Day meeting,

Terraplane The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane. They were ...

was disbanded by vocalist

Danny Bowes Daniel John ‘Danny’ Bowes (born 14 April 1960, West Ham, Essex, England) is a British hard rock singer. Education Bowes was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College. Life and career Bowes is the lead singer with the rock act, Thun ...

and guitarist

Luke Morley Luke Morley (born 19 June 1960 in Camberwell, London, England) is the guitarist, chief songwriter and producer for the hard rock band Thunder from 1989 to present (with a break from 1999–2002, and 2009–2011). Previous to that he wa ...

, who decided to form a new band under the name Thunder. Later in the month, the pair recorded a number of

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

s at Great Linford Manor Studios in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

with producer Andy Taylor and engineer Ben Matthews, as well as Terraplane drummer Gary "Harry" James, who was brought in after the initially planned drummer failed to attend. According to Morley, the band name was chosen as a combination of two elements: a song he had written called "Distant Thunder", and Taylor's debut solo album. Enlisting

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...

's Steve Price to play bass temporarily (Morley played bass as well as guitar on the Linford Manor demos), the group invited a number of

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s to their rehearsals in London, and later signed with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in April. Mark "Snake" Luckhurst joined Thunder as the group's original bassist on 2 May 1989, having been recommended by James after the two had performed together in Hellfire Corner. The band's lineup was completed with the addition of Matthews, who had earlier played keyboards for Terraplane's last two shows and engineered Thunder's January demos. Thunder played their first live show on 13 July 1989 at the Reid's Club in

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

, the first date in a short run of seven UK dates dubbed "The Toilet Tour". In August the band returned to the Great Linford Manor to record their debut studio album, again working with Taylor as producer. The album was mixed at London's

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...

by Mike Fraser, who also engineered the record. "She's So Fine" was released as the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the upcoming album on 30 October, after which the band embarked on a 27-date tour of the UK and Ireland dubbed the "Static Discharge Tour", which included two shows supporting

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

at the

NEC Arena is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. "Dirty Love" was released in February 1990 and entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number 40, before peaking the following week at number 32. The band's debut album ''

Backstreet Symphony ''Backstreet Symphony'' is the debut studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded in 1989 at Great Linford Manor Studios in Milton Keynes, it was produced by former Duran Duran and The Power Station guitarist Andy Taylor, then m ...

'' was released on 5 March and entered the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

at its peak position of number 21. By 1991, it had been certified gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI). Note: User must manually define search parameter as "Thunder" and click the 'Search' button in order to yield results. Four more tracks from ''Backstreet Symphony'' were later issued as singles – the title track, "

Gimme Some Lovin' "Gimme Some Lovin" is a song first recorded by the Spencer Davis Group. Released as a single in 1966, it reached the Top 10 of the record charts in several countries. Later, ''Rolling Stone'' included the song on its list of the 500 Greatest So ...

", a reissue of "She's So Fine", and "

Love Walked In "Love Walked In" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The tune was composed in 1930, but the lyric was not written until 1937, for the movie musical ''The Goldwyn Follies'' (1938), where it was sung by Kenny Baker. ...

" – all of which reached the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. Writing for ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'' magazine in 2002, journalist Dave Ling claimed that the album was "greeted with critical rapture", calling it "one of the all-time great hard rock debuts".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Alex Henderson, however, proposed that while the record "wasn't lacking when it came to spirit and enthusiasm", it displayed Thunder as " otthe most original or groundbreaking band in the world". ''Backstreet Symphony'' was featured at number 7 on the ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' "Albums of the Year" feature for 1990, and in 2008 was voted by the magazine's readers to be the 84th best British rock album of all-time. ''Backstreet Symphony'' was promoted on a UK tour running from late February through until the end of March, after which Thunder travelled to the United States to perform a pair of shows for American media and meet with EMI's sister label

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, who had originally released the album in the US. According to journalist

Mick Wall Mick Wall (born 23 June 1958) is a British music journalist, author, and radio and TV presenter. He has been described as "the world's leading rock and metal writer". Career Wall began his career contributing to the music weekly ''Sounds'' in 197 ...

, who had been travelling with Thunder for a number of months, "Capitol in America were notorious at the time for not supporting acts signed to EMI in the UK", which resulted in the band splitting with the label shortly after their meeting. Thunder continued touring in support of their debut album, including a stint supporting

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

in April and May, and another supporting Love/Hate in July, both in Europe. On 18 August they performed for the first time at

Monsters of Rock Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...

, which was headlined by

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

. After splitting with Capitol earlier in the year, the band signed a US deal with

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

in September, who reissued ''Backstreet Symphony'' with a new cover the following April. In June 1991, the album peaked at number 114 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Singles "Dirty Love" and "Love Walked In" reached number 10 and number 31, respectively, on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart.

1991–1996: UK chart success and bassist change

After continuing to promote their debut album ''Backstreet Symphony'' in various regions around the world throughout 1991, Thunder began recording their second studio album on 3 February 1992 at Outside Studios, which was later mixed at AIR Studios in June. The band worked with producer Andy Taylor again, although the album was co-produced by Luke Morley. In July 1992, the band supported

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

on a tour of South America which visited Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, before they performed at Monsters of Rock for the second time the following month, which was also headlined by Iron Maiden. Also in August, "Low Life in High Places" was released as the first single from the band's second album, reaching number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, before ''

Laughing on Judgement Day ''Laughing on Judgement Day'' is the second studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded between February and June 1992 at Outside Studios in Checkendon, it was produced the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and Andy Taylor (who ha ...

'' itself was released and debuted at number 2 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

– the band's highest album chart position to date. The album was Thunder's second release to receive a gold certification from the BPI, which it did in January 1993. Later singles "Everybody Wants Her", " A Better Man" and "Like a Satellite" all registered on the UK Singles Chart top 40 ("A Better Man" peaked at number 18, the highest UK Singles Chart position for the band to date). Thunder embarked on their Laughing All Over the World Tour on 1 October 1992, beginning with a run of 19 headline shows in the UK supported by Australian band

The Screaming Jets The Screaming Jets are an Australian hard rock band formed in Newcastle, Australia, in 1989 by frontman Dave Gleeson (vocals), Paul Woseen (bass guitar), Grant Walmsley (guitar)Richard Lara(guitar), and Brad Heaney (drums). The band has three al ...

. The band saw the year out supporting Extreme on a European tour in November, followed by a short run of dates in Japan in December. By the end of the year, Luckhurst had left the band. Morley has revealed that Luckhurst was sacked from the group, due to an incident in which the bassist threw a birthday cake at photographer Ross Halfin, after he requested for photos of only Morley and Bowes together. He was replaced the following February by Swedish bassist Mikael "Micke" Höglund, who was selected from a number of auditionees for the role including former Terraplane member Nick Linden, who claims he "got down to the last two candidates". The band continued touring throughout the rest of 1993, including a number of festival appearances in the summer, and later toured as their

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

s "Danny & the Doo Wops". For their third studio album (and first with Höglund), Thunder primarily recorded at Southern Tracks in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles, with additional sessions taking place at Jacobs Studios in

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

,

Armoury Studios Armoury Studios is a Canadian recording studio located in Vancouver, British Columbia's Kitsilano neighbourhood. History The Armoury building was constructed, from the ground up, in 1992 by Canadian songwriter/producer Jim Vallance. Vallance co ...

in the Canadian city of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and the

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

in Los Angeles, where the album was also mixed. Mike Fraser, who had previously engineered and mixed ''Backstreet Symphony'', produced the album alongside Morley. "Stand Up" was released as the album's lead single in December 1994, peaking at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. '' Behind Closed Doors'' followed on 23 January 1995, reaching a peak position of number 5 on the UK Albums Chart and receiving a silver certification from the BPI. "River of Pain" was issued as the album's second single in February, reaching number 31 in the UK, followed by "Castles in the Sand" in April which reached number 30. In June 1995, the band won the

Kerrang! Award The Kerrang! Awards are an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards features performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of mo ...

for Best British Live Act. The Behind Closed Doors Tour commenced in Germany on 5 April 1995 and included shows in Europe, the UK and Japan, wrapping up on 1 September in Tokyo. Later that month, the band released their first

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''The Best of Thunder: Their Finest Hour (And a Bit)'', promoted by the new song "In a Broken Dream" which reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart and topped the

UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...

. The album reached number 22 on the UK Albums Chart, number 3 on the

UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. Th ...

(behind

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

's ''

Ballbreaker ''Ballbreaker'' is the thirteenth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was released in 1995 and was re-released in 2005 as part of the ''AC/DC Remasters'' series. Background ''Ballbreaker'' marked the return of drummer Phil R ...

'' and ''

One Hot Minute ''One Hot Minute'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 12, 1995 by Warner Bros. Records. The worldwide success of the band's previous album ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991) caused guitar ...

'' by

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

), and was certified silver by the BPI. The compilation was promoted on the Their Finest Set (And a Bit) Tour, which included five shows in five UK cities between 27 September and 2 October.

1996–2002: Second bassist change and breakup

Morley, Matthews and James began writing new material with producer Taylor in January 1996, before entering the studio to record their fourth studio album in April. The album would be the band's first on their own B Lucky label, distributed by

Castle Communications Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's product ...

, with whom they signed in February that year. Recording took place at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and saw Morley handling bass duties in addition to guitar due to the absence of Höglund as a result of "family commitments". The album was completed by the end of May, after which Höglund announced that he was to leave Thunder permanently; he was replaced in the autumn by Chris Childs, formerly of Then Jericho. '' The Thrill of It All'' was released in Japan on 1 September 1996 through

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood corporation. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company is best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for ...

, but was delayed elsewhere due to Matthews's diagnosis of

tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...

, which prevented him from playing guitar. The album was eventually released outside of Japan in February 1997, reaching number 14 on the UK Albums Chart. After a Japanese run in January, the Thrill of It All UK Tour started in February and was followed by European dates in March; additional UK shows postponed due to Matthews's injury were rescheduled for April. Some UK dates were pushed back due to Bowes suffering

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

and

laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under two weeks. Laryngitis is categorised ...

, and in July he underwent surgery on his knee which signalled a short break for the group, during which time Childs and James featured in the rock musical ''Carnaby Street'', while Morley toured with Taylor's band The Power Station. Thunder signed with

Eagle Records Eagle Records is a British record label, a division of Eagle Rock Entertainment, itself a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. In the United Kingdom, the label's managing director is Lindsay Brown, former manager of Van Halen, while in the Un ...

in November 1997, who would release the band's first live album, simply titled ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'', the following February. The album reached number 35 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned the top 40 single "The Only One". ''Live'' was recorded over the course of four shows in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

and London between 12 and 16 November 1997, and were promoted on European and UK tours (in addition to a run supporting

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

) in the spring of 1998. The band also returned to the studio in April 1998 to record their fifth studio album '' Giving the Game Away''. The first preview of the album was released in the form of the single "Play That Funky Music" in June, which reached the UK Singles Chart top 40. "Just Another Suicide" (renamed "You Wanna Know" for the UK release) was issued as the second single from the album in March 1999, reaching number 49 on the UK Singles Chart, followed a week later by the album which reached the same position on the UK Albums Chart. The band toured the UK in promotion of the album through May and early June, before announcing later in the year that they were due to break up, issuing a statement which outlined that "After a great deal of exploration, discussion and soul searching, we have decided to split up. The reasons are many and complex, but to cut a long story short, we feel we have no choice. We must stress that this decision is due to outside business forces and not down to any personal or musical differences within the band." Speaking about the decision to disband Thunder, Bowes explained that "It was a matter of simple economics. We were finding it increasingly hard to find a record company that would allow us to compete", while Morley added that "There was no way to expand". The UK Farewell Tour ran through December 1999, followed by a run in Japan the following March. The final Thunder show took place on 4 May at

Dingwalls Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, ...

in London, and featured an acoustic set followed by a regular "electric" set. The final show was recorded for the live album '' They Think It's All Over... It Is Now'', which was released in July 2000; the acoustic set was also later issued as '' They Think It's All Acoustic... It Is Now'' in May 2001. After Thunder's breakup, Morley released his debut solo album ''El Gringo Retro'' in March 2001, Bad Influence featuring James and Childs released their second studio album ''One Way Love'' in May 2001, James joined Magnum in February 2002, and Bowes and Morley released an album together entitled ''Moving Swiftly Along'' in May 2002, under the name "Bowes & Morley".

2002–2009: Reformation and second active spell

In July 2002, it was announced that Thunder would be reuniting for a series of shows in November marketed under the Monsters of Rock brand. In a post online, Bowes confirmed the news, which had been leaked without permission, but reiterated that it would be "a non permanent reformation" which the band agreed to "as it gives us the ability to play again without having to commit to anything long-term". The band also began recording a new studio album in October, and in December formed their own record label, STC Recordings. STC stands for "Straight Talk Company", as Bowes says "I give you the news the same way; whether it's good or bad, I give it to you straight". '' Shooting at the Sun'' received a limited release online in March, and was later released throughout Europe in August by

Frontiers Records Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the m ...

. The album did not register on the UK Albums Chart, but did spawn the UK Singles Chart top 50 single "Loser". The band toured in promotion of the album throughout much of the rest of 2003, and early 2004. Thunder recorded their seventh studio album between June and August 2004, as well as playing a number of European festivals in July. The album was recorded at Chapel Studios in

South Thoresby South Thoresby is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north-east from Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Horncastle and south-east from Louth, Lincolnshire, Louth. Its population was 128 in ...

, produced by Morley and engineered and mixed by Rupert Coulson. In November the band supported

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

alongside

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

on a tour of the UK, before "I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll" was released as a single and reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. '' The Magnificent Seventh'' was released in the UK on 21 February 2005 and a day later in Europe, debuting at number 70 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart. The album was released a month later in Japan, and in mid-April internationally on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. The Magnificent Seventh Tour started in the UK in March, followed by European dates in April and June, a Japanese leg running into July, a second string of shows in Europe in December, and a return to the UK the following January. The band's eighth studio album, ''

Robert Johnson's Tombstone ''Robert Johnson's Tombstone'' is the eighth studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded at Chapel Studios in South Thoresby, Chez Bez and Tackle Out Studios in London, and the El Relaxo villa in Mijas, Spain, it was produced by th ...

'', followed in October 2006, peaking at number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. The album's only single, "The Devil Made Me Do It", was the group's 18th (and to date, latest) single to reach the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. Touring for the album commenced in the UK in November, followed by European shows in March 2007, a number of festival appearances in the summer, and three dates in Japan in September. In October 2007, the band released the first in a series of

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s (EPs) – ''Six of One...'' – which featured three previously unreleased studio tracks and three live recordings from the UK tour the previous November. The follow-up, ''...Half a Dozen of the Other'', was issued in April 2008 and also featured three studio tracks and three live recordings. The third and final EP of the trilogy, ''The Joy of Six'', was issued alongside the band's ninth studio album '' Bang!'' on 3 November 2008. The album reached number 62 on the UK Albums Chart. In January 2009, after a short UK tour promoting ''Bang!'', it was announced that Thunder were due to split up again. The band released a statement which explained that "we've found ourselves becoming increasingly busy with our various activities outside of the band, and we've come to the conclusion that there are simply not enough hours in the day to fit it all in", adding that they would complete scheduled tours in Europe in February and Japan in April, as well as adding a final run of UK shows in July. The final show of the UK tour, at the

Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ham ...

in London, was documented on the live video album ''At the End of the Road: Live in London, 11th July 2009'' released later in the year. The band's final shows took place at Rock of Ages and

Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...

on 31 July and 1 August, respectively.

2009–present: Hiatus, returns and recent events

After Thunder's breakup, Morley formed The Union with former Winterville frontman Peter Shoulder, while Childs also joined on bass. The band released their self-titled debut album in August 2010, which debuted at number 77 on the UK Albums Chart. Subsequent albums '' Siren's Song'' (2011) and '' The World Is Yours'' (2013) each charted in the UK top 100. Bowes and James featured on former Bad Company guitarist

Dave "Bucket" Colwell David "Dave Bucket" Colwell (born 1 August 1964) is a rock guitarist from the United Kingdom and has been a member of Bad Company, Samson, ASAP, The Eastenders, The Entire Population of Hackney, 720, The Torpedos, Angel Street, Roger Chapman's ...

's debut solo album ''Guitars, Beers & Tears'' (credited to "Bucket & Co.") – James performed drums on the whole album, while Bowes performed vocals on the song "Life". James also continued to record and tour with Magnum, who released the studio album '' The Visitation'' in 2011 which reached number 55 on the UK Albums Chart. In February 2011, it was announced that Thunder would reunite for a performance at the

High Voltage Festival High Voltage was a music festival, held twice in Victoria Park, London. The event hosted artists from various strands of rock music, including classic rock, progressive rock, and heavy metal. The first festival was held on 24 and 25 July 2010. Th ...

on 24 July, although Bowes made it clear that "there's no plan to do any other recording going forwards", while Morley reiterated that it was a "one-off reunion". Following the festival, however, the band announced that they would perform another show on 21 December at Rock City in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, while Bowes and Matthews would also perform a short run of six "intimate sit down shows" the following February. A second show at Rock City was later added the day after the first. Both shows were documented on the live albums ''Rock City 12: The Baubles Are Back in Town'' and ''The Xmas Show 2011'', released in 2012. Another pair of shows in December followed a year later, this time at the

Manchester Academy The Manchester Academy, originally known as the University of Manchester Main Hall, is composed of four concert venues, located on the campus of the University of Manchester, in Manchester, England. The four venues are: Academy 1, 2 and 3 ...

, with the band committing to annual Christmas shows in the future. The band supported

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

and

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

on tour in May 2013, as well as performing at a number of summer festivals. In May 2014, Thunder announced that they were due to record their first studio album since 2008. A statement released by a spokesperson for the band stated that "after what has been a rather silly amount of knob-twiddling and string-pulling, I'm happy to report that they've decided to record a new studio album". Responding to the question over the band's "change of heart" regarding the possibility of new material, Bowes commented that they decided to record a new album after receiving an "overwhelming response" from fans when they supported Journey and Whitesnake the previous year. Sessions for the album took place at Rockfield Studios in Wales, with Morley producing the record. Much of the album was recorded without the involvement of Matthews, who was going through treatment for

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

at the time. ''

Wonder Days ''Wonder Days'' is the tenth Album, studio album by English hard rock band Thunder (band), Thunder. Recorded in late 2014 at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, it was produced by the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and released internationall ...

'' was released in February 2015, and became the first Thunder album to reach the UK Albums Chart top ten since 1995's ''Behind Closed Doors'', when it peaked at number 9. The album was voted the 11th best of 2015 by ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'' magazine, while the publication ranked the title track as the fifth best song of the year. Thunder were also named Best British Band at Planet Rock's end-of-year awards. The band toured extensively in promotion of ''Wonder Days'', including three UK arena shows in March alongside

Reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

and Tax the Heat, numerous festival appearances in the summer, a run of European shows in November (including one of the first in Paris, France following the November 2015 attacks), and five arena shows with

Terrorvision ''TerrorVision'' is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ted Nicolaou, produced and written by Albert and Charles Band and composed by Richard Band, all of whom would go on to found and work with Full Moon Features in ...

and King King in February 2016. Later in the year, the group released their first career-retrospective book ''Giving the Game Away: The Thunder Story'', written by

Joel McIver Joel McIver (born 10 February 1971) is a British author. His best-known work is ''Justice for All: The Truth About Metallica'', first published in 2004 and appearing in nine languages since then. McIver's other works include biographies of Bla ...

. The book was launched at the Louder Than Words Festival in Manchester on 12 November 2016, where the band performed a short acoustic set and spoke with McIver live. The follow-up to ''Wonder Days'' was announced in December to be '' Rip It Up'', which would be released the following February and supported by a UK tour starting in March. The album reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, marking the highest position achieved by the band since ''Laughing on Judgement Day'' reached number 2 in 1992. Thunder performed their first shows ever in Australia shortly after the album's release, before returning to Europe in April for a string of dates. On 1 December 2017 the band released the single "Christmas Day", including a re-recorded version of "Love Walked In" and acoustic recordings of "Low Life in High Places" and "Heartbreak Hurricane". In October 2018, the band announced a new album with UK tour dates scheduled for February. ''

Please Remain Seated ''Please Remain Seated'' is the twelfth studio album by English hard rock band Thunder (band), Thunder. Recorded in late 2018 at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, it was produced by the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and released internatio ...

'' was released through new label BMG on 18 January 2019, with "twelve radically reworked re-recordings of songs from their 30 year career" and has been described as "a more quiet album, taking in influences from rock, blues, country, jazz and soul". As of October 2022, the band's latest album is ''Dopamine'', which contains sixteen songs and constitutes the group's first double-album. The first single goes by the title "The Western Sky". Music website

Blabbermouth.net Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001; in Octob ...

praised the song as featuring Thunder sounding "as immediate as ever" while also labeling "The Western Sky" as a "razor-sharp, riff-driven track". The related

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, which focuses on

motorcycle touring Motorcycle touring is a format of tourism that involves a motorcycle. It has been a subject of note since at least 1915. Motorcycle touring involves special equipment and techniques. A touring motorcycle optimized for long range travel and lugga ...

among various isolated landscapes, made its

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

debut on 17 February 2022.

Band members

Current members *

Danny Bowes Daniel John ‘Danny’ Bowes (born 14 April 1960, West Ham, Essex, England) is a British hard rock singer. Education Bowes was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College. Life and career Bowes is the lead singer with the rock act, Thun ...

– lead vocals *

Luke Morley Luke Morley (born 19 June 1960 in Camberwell, London, England) is the guitarist, chief songwriter and producer for the hard rock band Thunder from 1989 to present (with a break from 1999–2002, and 2009–2011). Previous to that he wa ...

– guitar, keyboards, harmonica, mandolin, backing vocals * Ben Matthews – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals * Chris Childs – bass, backing vocals * Gary "Harry" James – drums, percussion, guitar, backing vocals Former members * Mark "Snake" Luckhurst – bass, backing vocals * Mikael "Micke" Höglund – bass, backing vocals Timeline

Discography

Studio albums *''

Backstreet Symphony ''Backstreet Symphony'' is the debut studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded in 1989 at Great Linford Manor Studios in Milton Keynes, it was produced by former Duran Duran and The Power Station guitarist Andy Taylor, then m ...

'' (1990) *''

Laughing on Judgement Day ''Laughing on Judgement Day'' is the second studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded between February and June 1992 at Outside Studios in Checkendon, it was produced the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and Andy Taylor (who ha ...

'' (1992) *'' Behind Closed Doors'' (1995) *'' The Thrill of It All'' (1996) *'' Giving the Game Away'' (1999) *'' Shooting at the Sun'' (2003) *'' The Magnificent Seventh!'' (2005) *''

Robert Johnson's Tombstone ''Robert Johnson's Tombstone'' is the eighth studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded at Chapel Studios in South Thoresby, Chez Bez and Tackle Out Studios in London, and the El Relaxo villa in Mijas, Spain, it was produced by th ...

'' (2006) *'' Bang!'' (2008) *''

Wonder Days ''Wonder Days'' is the tenth Album, studio album by English hard rock band Thunder (band), Thunder. Recorded in late 2014 at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, it was produced by the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and released internationall ...

'' (2015) *'' Rip It Up'' (2017) *''

Please Remain Seated ''Please Remain Seated'' is the twelfth studio album by English hard rock band Thunder (band), Thunder. Recorded in late 2018 at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, it was produced by the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and released internatio ...

'' (2019) *''

All the Right Noises ''All the Right Noises'' is a 1971 British drama film directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Tom Bell, Olivia Hussey, Judy Carne and John Standing. It is set in London. Premise A married man with two young children, working as a lighting techn ...

'' (2021) *''Dopamine'' (2022)

Concert tours

References

Bibliography

*

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thunder Musical groups from London English hard rock musical groups English blues rock musical groups English glam metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups reestablished in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups reestablished in 2011 EMI Records artists Geffen Records artists Eagle Records artists

History

1989–1991: Early years and debut studio album

1991–1996: UK chart success and bassist change

1996–2002: Second bassist change and breakup

2002–2009: Reformation and second active spell

2009–present: Hiatus, returns and recent events

Band members

Discography

Concert tours

See also

References

Bibliography

External links